Dissertation Research: Abiotic and Biotic Control of Tree Regeneration: An Experimental Comparison of Sites Around Gatun Lake, Panama

[801320] Terborgh和Asquith这项工作的重点是为什么热带森林支持一个非凡的物种多样性水平和干扰后减少多样性的因素。方法是将监测和操纵结合在巴拿马已被隔离超过85年的森林碎片中。这些森林斑块是在1912年形成的，是巴拿马运河建设的副产品。这些森林碎片已被证明遭受了森林树种的损失。将森林碎片中的物种多样性与附近完整森林的物种多样性进行比较，将表明这段时间内树种损失的程度，而可操作的实验将为驱动这种多样性损失的机制提供证据。具体而言，将在不同哺乳动物群落的森林中测量发芽率、种子捕食率、幼苗食草率和存活率，其他实验将侧重于土壤湿度对幼苗存活的影响。这些实验将提供深入了解在受干扰的热带森林中导致生物多样性丧失的机制。

9801320 Terborgh and Asquith This work focuses on the question of why tropical forests support an extraordinary level of species diversity and the factors that reduce diversity following disturbance. The approach is to combine both monitoring and manipulations in forest fragments in Panama that have been isolated for over 85 years. These forest patches were created in 1912 as a byproduct of the construction of the Panama Canal. Such forest fragments have been shown to have suffered forest tree species loss. Comparison of species diversity in forest fragments with nearby intact forests will provide an indication of the extent of tree species loss during this period of time and manipulative experiments will provide evidence for mechanisms driving this loss of diversity. Specifically, rates of germination, seed predation, seedling herbivory and survivorship will be measured in forests with different mammal communities and other experiments will focus on effects of soil moisture on seedling survival. These experiments will provide insights into the mechanisms that drive loss of biodiversity in disturbed tropical forests.